Two-dimensional systems with competing interactions: microphase formation under the effect of a disordered porous matrix

Abstract

We have investigated the effect of a disordered porous matrix on the cluster microphase formation of a two dimensional system where particles interact via competing interactions. To this end we have performed extensive Monte Carlo simulations and have systematically varied the densities of the fluid and of the matrix as well as the interaction between the matrix particles and between the matrix and fluid particles. Our results provide evidence that the matrix does have a distinct effect on the microphase formation of the fluid particles: as long as the particles interact both among themselves as well as with the fluid particles via a simple hard sphere potential, they essentially reduce the available space, in which the fluid particles form a cluster microphase. On the other hand, if we turn on a long-range tail in the matrix-matrix and in the matrix-fluid interactions, the matrix particles become nucleation centers for the clusters formed by the fluid particles.

12 pages, 6 figures

References in corpus (8)

• Phase behavior of a fluid with competing attractive and repulsive interactions
• Two-dimensional fluid with competing interactions exhibiting microphase separation: theory for bulk and interfacial properties
• A model colloidal fluid with competing interactions: bulk and interfacial properties
• Single-particle and collective slow dynamics of colloids in porous confinement
• Microphase morphology in two dimensional fluids under lateral confinement
• Freezing and correlations in fluids with competing interactions
• Rheology of colloidal microphases in a model with competing interactions
• Impact of random obstacles on the dynamics of a dense colloidal fluid

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Explicit spatial description of fluid inclusions in porous matrices in terms of an inhomogeneous integral equation